From: Jasper
Date: 4/22/03
Time: 12:26:27 AM
Remote Name: 68.74.29.235
Miss Marple and Kari,
Fuhrman’s request to Ron Phillips is only the last part of the answer to why Phillips called him. The first part lies in the pool of detective that Phillips had to draw from.
Fuhrman says in Murder in Brentwood (Chap 2, page 11), “I wasn’t on call to handle a homicide that weekend, but I knew that if Ron called me, he needed the extra help.”
That statement makes absolutely no sense. If Fuhrman wasn’t on call neither was his partner Brad Roberts. So, who WAS on call?
According to Phillips’ testimony in the criminal trial, there were only eight detectives under his command. Six of them were rookies with no obligation to come to the crime scene if they were called. Phillips said that he couldn’t even get in touch with all of them. In effect, only one man was qualified to lead the investigation, Det. II Mark Fuhrman. The other detectives, including Fuhrman’s partner Brad Roberts, were Det. I.
Det. III Phillips did not go to Bundy as an investigator. He went there as a supervisor and facilitator for his lead detective Mark Fuhrman. In the preliminary hearing Uelmen asked Fuhrman about the trip to Rockingham to “notify” O.J.
“All right. And what was the purpose of detective Phillips going?”
Fuhrman replied, “He was my partner.”
The defense didn’t catch the lie.
“Oh,” said Uelmen, “I see. So you never go to a location without your partner accompanying you?”
MS. CLARK: Objection; that's argumentative.
THE COURT: Overruled.
THE WITNESS: Well, of course we do. But in this situation, there was no reason for him to stay at the scene…”
Phillips testified for the first time in the criminal trial. The defense was still operating under the illusion that Phillips and Fuhrman were partners. Phillips let the lie stand – with a lot of stumbling and fumbling in all the places that counted – until his lie by omission began to put him at risk of perjury. He then stopped Cochran in mid-sentence and told him that he was not Fuhrman’s partner.
Phillips testified before Lange (Rosa Lopez testified during Lange’s examination). After Lange (and Lopez) Fuhrman testified. When you go to that testimony look at where MARCIA begins to stumble (partners, roles and responsibilities). Remember Marcia’s appearance at Rockingham, her “problem” with Roberts and the socks. Every bit of this can be traced to Fuhrman, the first homicide detective on the scene, the only man in the LAPD who could have been called to fulfill that role at the time of his choosing. --Jasper